Hit 2 deer in the past year driving here in Michigan. But also got 3 deer with my bow, so I'm still winning.
Statistics mean nothing to the man that drowns in a river with an average depth of 2 feet. Any state that has deer in the suburbs or even in the city will have car/deer collisions in the fall. I have only hit 1 deer with a car and so you don't think about it till it happens to you or somebody you know. Kinda funny in that most people when they hit a deer can't grasp how a deer can total a car or truck.
I personally think, at least in my area, it has little to do with the rut, and way more to do with the grass/clover in the ditches and medians. Driving at dusk here from late October-early November and in a 12 mile stretch I'll see 20+ deer. Drive that same stretch with 4" or more of snow on the ground and you might see 1. Look in the woods at in that timeframe and the last green forage has turned and dropped. The grass in the ditches here is the last green food source for them. Once it's covered up they're back in the woods eating browse.
Many years ago, some environmentalists pushed to stop mowing and trimming our ditches so the scenic roads were more natural. The result was it being impossible to see a deer before it was on the road. Today, ditches and medians on the freeways are mowed and there has been an effort to trim trees back from the road giving us drivers a much better chance of seeing the deer before it is in our hood. All three deer I've hit is when I was doing at or below the speed limit. So I think the best thing to do is speed.
